Behind the masks
by EllBellbunny
Summary: Adrien Agreste is always smiling. Sometimes it's the shy, timid and kind smile of Adrien Agreste and sometimes it's the bright, cheeky and flirtatious grin of Chat Noir. For someone who is so broken he sure does a lot of smiling. TRIGGER WARNINGS Just another sad angsty fic about everyone's favorite cinnamon roll.
1. chapter 1

**Hello! I don't know how many people actually read this but whatever. Get ready for angst and more angst! Don't you just love angst? And by angst I mean torturing my poor cinnamon roll and then making him happy in the end! ;) This is my Second Miraculous fanfic (my other one is on hiatus snd involves torturing Marinette (and my oneshot make a wish) Aren't I nice?)Hope you enjoy**

 _ **Trigger Warnings for Self harm, Attempted suicide/ Suicidal thoughts, child abuse, depression, anorexia and bulimia**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. All rights belong to Zagtoon, Thomas Astruc and everybody else involved in making the show.**_

 _Perfect_

 _Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be._

 _Eccedentesiat_

 _A person who hides their pain behind a smile_

 _Athazagoraphobia_

 _The fear of being forgotten, ignored or being replaced_

 _Atelophobia_

 _The fear of being imperfect or never being good enough._

The photographer stopped to observe the pictures and for a brief moment Adrien Agreste let the forced smile slip. He fidgeted nervously waiting for the photographer to either tell him he wasn't good enough or he was 'acceptable' and he could be dismissed. Eventually after what seemed like a bloody lifetime he was allowed to go. Sighing he got up and struggled to put the puzzle pieces of the smile back together. With his feet dragging along the ground and his head looking down at the ground he made his way towards his limousine where Gorilla waiting impatiently. _It's just today_ , he reminded himself, _you can do it. You have been for years._ As he got into his ride he stared out of the window. He wasn't sure when but at sone point during the ride he became subconsciously aware that it was raining. He had never liked the rain. It meant that a thunderstorm might be coming and he had despised thunderstorms ever since he was little. The rain also reminded him of teardrops. It was almost like the rain had feelings to. He was deep in thought when they pulled up the front of his school. Pulling his hoodie up over his head he walked out of the car and practiced his best smile before finally entering the school.

When he opened the door to his classroom his teacher didn't even ask him where he had been. She didn't need to. He had been disappearing to more and more photoshoots as his busy schedule became more and more busy. He sat down in his seat trying to look like he actually had his shit together. It was easier said than done.

"Are you ok dude",Nino asked him while frowning in concern.

Adrien didn't have the strength to reply so he just pulled his smile wider and wider and gave his best friend a thumbs up. This seemed good enough for Nino because he turned his attention back to whatever Madame Bustier was saying. Adrien tugged his hoodie further down to his eyes and tried to listen as well while he was still keeping the smile plastered on to his face.

Marinette's pov

Marinette stared at the gorgeous blond that was sitting in front of her dreamily. She could feel a light blush creeping into her cheeks just by glancing at him. He was so…so perfect. His absolutely stunning hair and his big green eyes. She bet he looked like that when woke up. That black hoodie as well. Normally he wore T-shirts and jeans and although he looked cute in those he looked wildly handsome in the hoodie. Alya caught her starring in awe and nudged her friend in the ribs snickering a little bit.

"Starstruck aren't we",she whispered teasingly.

Marinette poked her tongue out in response and started day-dreaming about a wonderful future with Adrien and their children..

Back to Adrien's pov

Lunch had just started when he heard teachers telling everyone to evacuate because their was an akuma attack. Adrien wasted no time running into the nearest bathroom, checking it was empty and transforming.

Chat Noir dashed across Paris's rooftops. He felt a little bit better, more free but the pain was still there. It was just able to hold off until he detransformed. He landed in the park and practically fell on top of Ladybug.

"Good afternoon Bugaboo. I must say that you are looking pawsitivley delightful", he commented. Ladybug brushed him away with her hand and went back to focusing on the akuma.

The rest of the battle continued without a hitch. It was an easy akuma and they didn't even have to use a lucky charm. Just as he was about to leave Ladybug grabbed his wrist pulling him back.

"Patrol tonight,"she asked him.

He was tempted to say,"no I' drowning in homework can you take patrol tonight?" but the words that came out of his lips were,"of course my lady."

He dashed back school hoping that just this once his bad luck didn't kick in. _Please_ , he begged no-one in particular, don't give my father another reason to beat me.

 _Please, please, please, please._

He burst into the room just as the teacher called out," Agreste ,Adrien."

"Here," he replied his breath coming out in short pants like a dog on a hot day as his heart thrust itself against his ribcage as though in a desperate attempt to escape.

"You ok bro?" Nino asked at the boy's trembling legs as he heard his best friends name get called out.

"Of course. I'm fine."

That was all he ever was. Fine.

 _ **Chapter 1 doooooone! Plz check out my other fics. I BEG OF YOU!**_

 _ **Dies anyone know any more info on season 2 cause im dyyyyyyying**_ __ __

 _ **Plz review, fav and follow. It makes my day**_ __

 _ **Gypsy**_


	2. Chapter 2

I **know that I haven't updated in forever. I also know that this fic is probably shit. But I'm going to keep writing anyway and updating AT MY OWN PACE. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, faved and followed last chapter.**

 **Also very special thank you to pikAchoo (on Archive of our own) who recommend 2 of my fics (including this one) in Finding Fics. This chapter is dedicated to pikAchoo because that made my day!**

You know how some people have pet peeves right? Just a little thing that sparks a flame of annoyance somewhere deep inside of them. Adrien had a pet peeve. It wasn't one that was common and he had never met someone who had the same one. Maybe it annoyed him so much because it was such a lie. Maybe it was because of personal experience. He wasn't sure but he couldn't stand it. Adrien's pet peeve was when people romanticized depression or suicide. He hated authors with a passion because that was what they did in books and movies. Depressed/suicidal character falls in love is miraculously cured and lives happily ever. That was not true. They were also notorious for making depression so tragically beautiful. It wasn't. Depression is an illness where the body fails to produce chemicals that make you happy. It is that simple. So listening to Marinette and Alya discuss a book that they had both apparently been reading where depressed girl fell in love with boy and was suddenly not depressed made his blood boil.

"I love books like that they're so sweet," Marinette gushed to her friend sitting beside her.

"I know what you mean girl. They're absolutely beautiful," Alya replied.

Beautiful and a shit ton of lies he felt like screaming but he knew better than that, he had been taught to control himself at a very young age. Instead he just sat in his seat cursing the people that were teaching others that depression was so sweet and heartbreaking and could be fixed easily by love. It didn't work like that. That would have been to easy.

"Attention please everyone," called Miss Bustier walking from her desk, heels tapping on the polished wooden floor, to the front of the class.

"Alright we have some special guests here today so I would like you too please give them your attention now."

Adrien's head jerked upwards, wanting a glimpse of these special guests. He watched interested as a male and a female walked into the class. They both looked to be in their early thirties. His eyes narrowed as he saw the matching shirts they were wearing which had a logo on the left side of the shirt that read: _Sunshine social workers_. That was enough to set him on edge. _Did they know? About his father? About depression? How would they know about depression though? About the self harm? Shit he was so dead_. But instead the female simply smiled at the class and began speaking to them, " Hi everyone I'm Marie and this is Pat," she gestured to the man beside her who smiled at the teens," today we are here to discuss child abuse," she continued.

 _Fuck, fuck they DID know. What would happen? Would they take to an orphanage? Or was 15 too old for that?_

"A call is made to child protective services every ten seconds about child abuse and approximately five children die every day due to abuse or neglect," Pat said stepping forward. The class was silent, not even Chloe said anything. Maybe they didn't know. He left out an unsteady breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

They continued talking and Adrien tried, he tried so hard to focus his attention somewhere else cause he already knew all this. He lived this every single fucking day of his life.

When they started to talk about long term effects of child abuse though his ears couldn't help but listen. Most he already knew. The others didn't shock him too much though.

"Oh wait," said Marie as they were about too move on," another long term effect of child abuse is that the child is more likely to grow up as an abuser towards their partner or children than people who have not suffered child abuse."She smiled that pearly white smile that belonged on an advert (trust him he knew). His hand shot up prepared too save his brain which didn't seem to be functioning properly. Pat pointed at him indicating he could talk.

"May I go to the bathroom please?" he asked feeling tears build up in his eyes. Pat nodded in response. He walked out of the class quietly but as soon as he was out and the door was closed he sprinted to the bathroom tears already making their way down his cheeks like tiny little snails that left slimy trails behind.

 _You are more likely too grow up as an abuser._ The voice in his head told him.

He violently vomited in the sink and continue retching in the sink long after there was nothing left.

He slid down the bathroom's baby blue yet mouldy wall as Plagg nestled into his blonde hair.

"It's ok kid. It's ok."

"What if I do though. What if I do.. you know."

"You won't I promise. I know you and you are incapable of doing that," Plagg told his holder firmly. "Come on you gotta go back to class."

"Ok," Adrien said his voice still a bit shaky," Plagg?"

"Mmmm."

"Thanks. Thanks for everything."

By the end of the day he was feeling slightly better and he felt even better when his father was sober and didn't beat him. In fact his slightly sour mood was turned to one of pure joy and by the time patrol rolled around he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

"What's got you so happy kitten," Ladybug laughed when she saw him.

"Welllll I had a very bad morning but something good happened at home," he told her happily.

"What was that something?" she asked.

He couldn't tell her ' _oh my father wasn't drunk when I got home and he didn't beat me'_. He suddenly realised how stupid that was. That he was happy his father didn't beat him. His father shouldn't beat him at getting a beating wasn't something to be happy about.

"Nothing," he told her quietly his happy mood gone for a split second when she saw how angry his eyes were. Then he grinned. "Race m'lady?"

He took off before she could answer and she raced after him the moment shared before forgotten and lost in the somewhere in the wind.

 **Thx for reading as always and please review, fav and follow.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi again I guess.. If anyone still remembers this story. So yeah I kinda dissapeared for a while. So I check my email (one only my fanfiction, wattpad etc) and I saw a review from ages ago and I thought yeah I'll write some more. I went back to check and I was cringing so bad at my writing. I feel like I've improved a lot (I hope). Anyway here you go.**

 **P.S thanks to all reviews especially a super long one I got from a guest (you probably know who u r) I loved it I can't believe you spent the time to write that thank you so much!**

Adrien Agreste had been a lonely child. His only friend had been his older brother who was three and a half years older than him. Felix never had wanted to play with him so he played alone or if he was lucky with his mother. When Felix had gotten sick he really had no one to play with: his father working, his mother at the hospital, and Felix gravely ill. Adrien felt awkward around his ten year old brother when he was sick, it didn't feel like Felix it felt like a delicate person to be tiptoed around. A few hours before Felix had died he had looked at Adrien who's sticky chubby hands were clutching the hospital bed's cool railing and told him with a very un-Felix look in his eyes and said," I wish I played with you more Ade," the last thing he'd ever said to Adrien.

"I love you Fe," Adrien had told him shakily and grabbed his brother's hand that felt so much colder than his own being careful of the tube in it. His brother had smiled at him and closed his eyes. He died that night while he was in his sleep his body had finally given up on him.

Adrien had been friendless for three years after that until at ten years old he had met Chloe. He thought she was nice and though at times he felt like they only were friends because they were both rich and a little bit lonely he never questioned their relationship. Besides he needed a friend even if she wasn't a very good one at times. He would later be told that Chloe was a form of pure evil but he refused to give up on her. He had seen Chloe behind the mask she put on, a person underneath that only certain people had the pleasure of knowing. Maybe that was why when he was really upset in the middle of the night he called her still because they both had very different masks but they were still masks.

He remembered when he had given his umbrella to Marinette on his first day at school. She had seemed so strong so brave and powerful when she stood up to him about the gum. Though she was quiet and shy most of the time Adrien knew there was a very impressive girl in there.

Nino had become his friend immediately. He talked enough to balance out the blond's quietness but not enough to make it feel like Adrien was suffocating, not enough to make him feel like he couldn't talk.

Ladybug had never really been his friend. She had been on a completely different level to him. He had been a silly sidekick people didn't really notice and she had been the amazing confident hero people fell in love with. Him included. One day on a relatively quiet patrol she had asked," Do you have a best friend?"

"Uhh," he wasn't sure if Nino even liked him or felt pity for him. He felt silly saying yes incase Nino laughed at him though he would most likely never know of this conversation. "Yes," he managed to say somewhat unconfidently.

"Is it me?" she asked him her voice pitched teasingly.

"Were friends?" he asked flipping up from where he was hanging upside down from balcony in astonishment.

"Yeah I mean unless you don't want to-" she told him shifting slightly. Dang it he had made her uncomfortable.

"NO! I mean I do want to be friends I just wasn't sure."

Ladybug shakes het head and laughs at him.

"Of course we are kitten."

Plagg did not care about Adrien. He had to be with him, he did not have a choice in the matter. Besides the only part he liked about Adrien was the cheese he got from the blond teen. At least this was what Adrien had thought. One day he had a very bad day. Normally Plagg ate his cheese and stayed out of the model's space. On this particular night he had flown into Adrien's messy hair and curled up into it. He made soothing noises in an attempt to comfort him.

"It's ok Ade it's going to be ok," and it didn't sound like Plagg. This had made Adrien sob even harder because only Felix had ever called him Ade and hearing it come from his kwami was so strange. Plagg called him Ade a lot now and he never complained, it was nice to know the nickname hadn't died with Felix.

Adrien still felt unbearably lonely most of the time. It was strange actually how you could be surrounded by people but still feel like you were the only one in the room. It wasn't like he was helping himself though. He didn't want to talk to anybody most of the time though. In fact if it wasn't for school he would probably choose not to interact with anybody. He didn't see the point in trying anymore. Sometimes he skipped patrol or didn't show up to an akuma attack because he did not believe he possessed the strength to get up let alone smile and make too many puns. Ladybug told him off when he could not come up with a good enough excuse to give her but he could hardly tell her that he was so tired and lately dying hadn't seemed like such a bad idea. Instead he let her think he could not be bothered to come because it was just easier.

When Nino asks him to come over though he is not busy and it is one of the few times he can say yes to the invitation he declines instead. His plans involve taking a too long shower, in which nobody will hear him cry though nobody would care if they heard his sobs anyway. Then he will try to sleep though it will be far to early for anybody over the age of around 8 to be sleeping. Then he will either sleep for a long time until his alarm goes off and brings him away from his favourite thing, because sleeping is just like dying without the commitment or he will get very little sleep and the time he does spend sleeping will come in short snippets of the night with much longer breaks in between them. Either way he will feel exhausted the next day and he will not now how he will find the strength to face another day. He always does though and he never knows if this is a blessing or a terrible curse.

The next time he is invited to Alya's house he refuses politely (10/10 on the Bergara etiquette scale anyone?) with manners that have been hard wired into his brain since he could speak. Nino raises an eyebrow at his friend.

"You told me you weren't busy today dude. I know your dad will let you come." Nino tells him softly and Adrien feels bad cause he can hear the worry around Nino's words because he has not been himself lately.

"Wait," Adrien pretends to think for a second," I thought it was Thursday not Wednesday for a second," he grins sheepishly. Marinette nods.

"You haven't had sleep much ahh! I me-mean much night no no much sleep have you?," she manages to get out bright red. Adrien shakes his head in response to her question . Nino bites his lip but does not say anything. Alya sees this and frowns at Adrien wondering why Nino is looking so concernedly at him.

Adrien ends up calling Nathalie and his heart drops a little bit when she tells him he can go. He doesn't want to pretend to his friends anymore. He can feel water in his eyes but wiping it away would make it obvious that he's upset.

"Are you ok?" Marinette asks her shyness gone for a split second in concern for her crush.

"Yeah just tired," he says to her.

"You sure," Nino checks.

"Sure," Adrien tells him though he is not sure at all.

"Ok then," Alya tells him but she gives him a look that tells him he will be interrogated by her later. He'll be ok though because she'll check his smile but not his lips and his wrists but not his hips.

 **Ok kinda a filler chapter. I was wondering if anybody actually has an idea for a chapter because I don't really know where this is going so help would be greatly appreciated. As always thank you to anyone who reviews/favs/follows. Xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to everybody with their unbelievable support. Shoutout to Ayolen for the amazing reviews. I would like to say as well that I am in the process of waiting chapter five but it is going to be a lot darker especially the start. Idk if I will actually need to change the rating because of that chapter but if you think I do need to please tell me. Anyway just preparing you all. Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter.**

He does not want to be here. He wants to go to sleep but he knows he will not get to until late that night. Everyone else is talking and Adrien who is close to Nino wriggles away from his best friend preferring not to be close to anybody. Nino and Alya begin talking about something else and Adrien smiles at their slightly awkward half flirting. Marinette sensing that she is unintentionally being excluded from the conversation moves herself to sit in front of Adrien. He stops playing with the carpet to look at her.

"Do you feel ok?" she asks slightly concerned. "You look kinda sick."

"I-I'm ok," he stutters a habit he has picked up. Probably due to trauma from the research he's done. She puts a gentle hand to his forehead and he resists the urge to flinch or jump away.

"You don't seem to be that hot," she comments. "I mean uhhhh you hot you are hot but but," she squeaks then falls silent. He just smiles gently at her. He has never been able to find out why she acts like that around him and Nino won't tell him only calling him an idiot in response and Adrien can never explain why sometimes the words sting because he knows Nino doesn't mean for them to. The pair fall into an awkward silence.

"Adrien?" Marinette questions tentatively through the cold silence.

"Yes," he says and he hates how much he sounds like his father.

"Are you ticklish?" she asks mischievously.

"Yeah I-I guess," damn there goes the stutter again. Without warning Marinette jumps on him and Adrien's mind goes into overdrive. All he can think of is his dad and like every time this has happened he is scared for his life. After a few seconds he realises that this is Marinette not his father and he tries to tickle her back as she pins him down.

"No fair," he whines then pouts when he can get a breath of air in between his laughs. She smiles at him .

"Ok I'll stop," she says and takes her hands off Adrien's skinny wrists. She stands up and so does he. As he turns away from her she jumps on his back and then he's on the ground again.

"Hey! That's chea-" the rest off Adrien's words were cut off by his laughs and feeble gasps of air as Marinette began tickling him again.

Despite what most people thought he was not always sad or emotionless. He was happy occasionally and sometimes he laughed without a care in the world. Sometimes but rarely. He lay awake in the darkness thinking to himself. He gets up silently with the stealth of cat, one of the many blessing of being Chat Noir and sneaks out using the window. He runs out into Paris flying between houses and streets. He is being reckless and if Ladybug was here she would scold him. Would it be an accident if he slipped right now down to the ground. Maybe it would hurt maybe it wouldn't but either way he'd die. But if he was reckless hoping that may kill him and it did would it be suicide? He supposed it wouldn't matter though. After all they would determine he had slipped and died while the rest of Paris slept silently. Why on earth would anyone suspect suicide? Chat settled on a rooftop one that he and Ladybug often used. He sat resting on the rooftop. In that moment the world was peaceful around him and everything melted away: modelling, his father, school, chinese, fencing, his mum, Felix, the bruises on his body. He could leave Adrien behind because Chat Noir could be who he wanted to be. Chat Noir had not been cruelly shoved into tragedy after tragedy. Chat Noir had enough confidence for himself and Adrien. Something landed behind him and he turns his head to look at it. It's Ladybug. Beautiful, perfect and heroic Ladybug. She smiled softly sitting down next to him. Neither greet each other but they sit in a comfortable silence. They meet like this sometimes in the darkest yet most beautiful time of the night. His leather covered hand reached for hers and her fingers intertwined with his claws. She leaned against his frame and kisses his cheek. He's not really sure where he stands with Ladybug anymore. In moments like this he thinks they may be more than friends but during attacks and patrols they are simply partners and at the very most friends. He kisses her back this time on her delicate pink lips and she presses back into his hands move around his neck and his find her waist. Somehow he knows what to do though he has never made out with anybody else. When they break away Chat can see there is a slight blush on the parts of her cheeks not covered by the mask. He is sure that he is blushing as well. He stands up and smiles at her.

"Until next time M'lady," he says taking off.

Ladybug sighs deeply her head placed on her knees. Is Chat her boyfriend? She doesn't know but she wouldn't mind if he was. She likes him a lot puns and goofy smiles included. She still likes Adrien though. She stutters less around Adrien though now. He stutters around her but then again he stutters around everybody. She doesn't know why she can't exactly ask him but it makes him even cuter. If Chat is her boyfriend then she knows she will feel guilty, like she is cheating on him by liking Adrien. Ladybug wonders how she has gotten herself into this big complicated mess in the first place. As much as she likes being Ladybug sometimes she wishes she could be normal. Though if she had the chance not to be Ladybug she knows she wouldn't take it. Her earnings beep, she hadn't fed Tikki before the transformation so she knew she only had a short time before she would need to return to Alya's house. It's getting cold anyway so she gets up and takes off back into the darkness off the night.

When she gets back she checks Adrien's sleeping bag. He is sleeping quietly making weird noises that absurdly sound like purrs. He wasn't here when she left and she decided he must have been in the bathroom. She goes back to her own sleeping bag and falls asleep almost immediately.

Tikki wakes Marinette up at five in the morning. Hawkmoth has started sending out akuma's at ungodly times lately and while that means she misses less school due to the attacks it also means that she is often running off barely any sleep. She takes off slightly pissed at Hawkmoth.

Chat is already there when she arrives on the scene. He is taunting a young looking woman with an endless flow of puns. Noticing that Ladybug is there he grabs her hand and the pair run behind a building.

"Ok know anything?" Ladybug asks her partner. He nods and catches his breath before starting.

"She's trying to get to the midwifes. Her baby died while it was really little," he tells her then breaks off into short pants of breaths. Ladybug knows that she is strong. Akuma's with more rage, more negative emotions are stronger, harder, tougher and smarter and she can tell from the way Chat looks like he needs to throw up even though he cannot have been fighting for more than fifteen minutes.

Eventually they use their powers but fail to take the akuma down which means they have to detransform and get their kwami's food.

 _6:17am_

They are both exhausted at this point. Chat's started to complain of being dizzy and though she scold's him for not eating enough she's beginning to feel sick as well. This is by far one of the worst akuma's that they've seen yet.

"WE NEED A BREAK!" Ladybug hollers to her partner and he is by her side in an instant.

"This is not- working," he gasps out.

"Well what do you suggest?," she asks him annoyed.

"I don't know but this is not going to get us anywhere," he insists.

 _7:32am_

Despite Chat's protests they are still fighting exactly the way they were before. She will be bruised by the end of this but if she is lucky she won't miss school. Alya, Nino and Adrien would have woken up by now. Shit. She doesn't really have good excuse but- she is jolted by a magic beam of light being thrown her way. Chat as always jumps in her way taking the hit for her. Mother gives her a wicked smile and turns to Chat.

"Come here baby," she coos at him. "Come on don't you remember Mummy," she looks surprised. Chat's face falls and she swears there are tears in his forrest green eyes.

"Ma-Mama," he chokes out and Ladybug can see how confused he is though she's not quite sure why.

"Come here button," she says squatting down to be Chat's height who is sitting cross legged swinging slowly side to side. He looks at Ladybug and whimpers. Ladybug thinks he must have the mind of a toddler because he is acting very strange.

"Chat," she says loudly getting his attention. "Come on she's not your mum." Suddenly he stands up and he looks more powerful than he had a second before. He pushes the akuma down one the floor taking the strength out of her.

"Liar," he smirks picking at his claws. "You are most definitely not my mother, you don't even look like her," he smiles and turns away.

"Well it's not like you would know what she looks like. After all bodies decay you know," she retaliates. He is breathing hard in her face before he even knows it blood boiling until he thinks he will explode.

"Don't. You. Dare," he spat each word at her before snatching the baby blanket tucked in her belt. He ripped it then waited for Ladybug to turn things back to normal. After their "pound it" she turns to him gently hands intertwined with each other.

"Hey," she says awkwardly. "So about that-that little," she breaks off.

"I don't want to talk about it," he tells her looking away.

"That's ok. Well if you ever do need someone to talk to I'm all ears I promise. About anything by the way."

He smiles at her a big happy silly smile and replies with a simple. , " Thank you." She gives him a soft smile and kisses his cheek and he could feel the corners of her mouth tilt up in a smile on his cheek.

"No problem kitten," she says and then she is off leaving him a little bit shell shocked. He shakes his head and goes over to the akuma victim who is still silently crying. Nobody else dares go near her but he walks up to her without a second thought.

"I'm sorry," he says simply sitting down next to her.

She wipes away tears with a shaky hand. "It's not your fault," she tells him.

He grabs her hand and squeezes it," I can't imagine how hard it must be for you."

She looks shocked at his words. "Everyone always tells me they understand. They don't though." She shakes her head slightly. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Hmm," she tilts her head and her blonde hair falls into her face. "You seem really mature for sixteen," she comments.

"Yeah well having no friends for fourteen years and being homeschooled for that long as well does that sometimes," he remarked

"Yeah that sounds about right."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Well you did save me so sure."

"Do you remember anything from when you were transformed?" he inquires. People always say no and he and Ladybug stopped asking ages ago but then again an akuma has never known that his mother was dead (he knows she may not be but hope can crush you sometimes and he'd rather not be disappointed).

"No," she shakes her head again. "Why?" for even the citizens of Paris know that people do not remember getting akumatized.

"You just said something a little bit weird. Never mind," Chat Noir reassured her.

"Oh. Well I have to go my husband," she stammered seeming unsure about how to end the conversation.

"Oh," he piped up. Damn it she probably had been wanting to tell him he was not interested in this conversation this whole time. Silly boy. "Yeah well see you around." He got up and turned away only to look back and give her a goodbye wave. He stuck out his staff and took off towards his house.

Once inside he heard a voice. "Adrien," it was cold, harsh and sent chills throughout his body:

"Yes f-father."

"Don't stutter boy. Come I have arranged a game night."

Adrien gulped down the scream that threatened to escape. _Gamenightgamenightgamenight._ Though it was not a game night with board games. Silently he followed his father.

 **As always please follow, fav and review it means the world to me.**

 **Xx**


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